Video Conversion Questions

Yes indeed – just let us know beforehand that you require this at checkout stage in the comment section and mark on your videos the number sequence please.  Happy to help!

For all types of media we will also strive to carry out the core requirements of a transfer within our standard price.  In the case of videos for example, our goal is always to capture the film as faithfully as possible. Where a client has video and would like specific bits taken out – again it’s always better to let out customers do themselves  since it’s more cost effective and they will stand a greater chance of getting it right first time than us! It’s actually quite easy for clients to do this. We too can offer this service for not much more in most cases if the client prefers.

Excellent Question! In rare cases, we sometimes discover that a tape cannot be played or it will do more damage than good to play it without a repair beforehand. In this case, we’d advise you of a course of action on inspection. If it cannot be transferred, we’d refund you for the unit.

Yes indeed! We’ve transferred thousands over the years and it’s only natural that you should ask such a question.
Just click here to see examples of tapes that were transferred using our process.

We are able to convert most types of videotape format with us, including VHS, VHS-C, Video8, Hi8, Digital 8, MiniDV, MicroMV and Betamax to digital/DVD.
We‘re very proud of our video transfers.

Pricing per item enables us to be cost effective – a benefit we pass on to our customers. We charge by the number of items, irrespective of whether it is full or not as short duration tapes still have a setup and transfer time and cost attached to it for us. It also means that you don’t have to waste time in advance calculating in advance how much content is on each item!

We specialise in repairing old video tapes as a supplement to our transfer service. Sometimes they are even stuck in your camcorder machine.
Over almost twenty years, we’ve seen a wide variety of tape issues. From a straightforward VHS tape repair to dealing with sticky tape syndrome, our customers have been overjoyed when we’ve helped them. There are in fact several ways of restoring a video tape and they should all be carried out by professionals really. A lot of damage can be done otherwise. You ideally need to partner with a company that has many years of experience in this field. Our goal is not designed to just extend the tape’s life, but to bring it back to a place where it can be simply played back successfully by you. Of course this also opens the door to the possibility of converting the tape too – a tremendous advantage.

Excellent question! It is a term that means different things to different people really.
Put simply, most digitised tapes will be converted to 576p at about 25 frames per second –that’s about half the resolution of HD and a lower refresh rate than today’s TVs.
We digitise your videos to help preserve them, but it cannot look like film shot on a modern HD camcorder nowadays of course. Ultimately, the sooner you convert your video, the better chance you have of preserving those memories!

Most modern day televisions will play MP4 video files from a USB memory stick. Please refer to your television’s owner manual or perhaps search online beforehand for more information on what your television will be compatible with to be on the safe side.

Yes, in general, we can convert most NTSC (USA System) and SECAM (French system) consumer format tapes to PAL (the UK standard). This having been said, there are less common video formats where it is best to consult us beforehand – such as Betamax.

Please make us aware which tapes you believe to be in a foreign standard with your package. If we discover any in your package that are in another standard, we will advise you accordingly and a nominal extra charge will be applied to cover the extra processing time.

To maintain quality, each tape will typically be transferred onto a separate DVD. Contact us should you require anything special and we can advise you.

Good question! In most cases our standard level of service will be sufficient. However in some cases, it will make sense to consider our advanced service which will take a little longer and cost a little more but result in a better outcome for your video tape. If there’s a tape that may merit from such attention, we can advise you and be guided by you in advance.

Well, we use DVD-R format which is supported by almost all DVD players but there can always cases where due to a conflict between the player manufacturers or codecs on computers that need updating that DVDs will not play. So although we try our best, we can always promise disc compatibility with your DVD player. 

This depends on a number of factors including the make of the disc itself. General estimates range from 20 years to 100 years though and keeping them well stored and in a dry location without touching the read surface with greasy or moist fingers is important for example.